I’ve spent most of the week researching and planning our next move, which ordinarily, without the festive holiday break and Covid restrictions, probably wouldn’t have been as challenging as it was, but finally on Friday evening we booked our next stay and the means to get there, so unfortunately I didn’t get around to booking the car, or a haircut. We did manage to get out for plenty of walks and a swim on most days. We also discovered El Bufadero, which is a natural blowhole created by a cavernous chamber beneath the volcanic rock face. On Saturday we decided to spend the day visiting the capital Las Palmas, which by bus is over an hour away, or if you can’t read the bus timetable properly, you can get there in about 15 minutes by taxi. We pulled up at the Plaza de Santa Ana, in Vegueta quarter, in front of the imposing twin towered “Las Palmas Cathedral”, which was commissioned around 1500, but took around 400 years to complete, hence the interesting blend of Gothic, Renaissance and Neoclassical architecture. If you climb to the top you get some great views over the city. The square itself is overshadowed on each side by grand colonial buildings. Terrifying pirates attacks were a real problem back in the day and if you look closely at some of the buildings, you will notice that what look like cannons below the roofline, are gutters designed to deter would be attackers….Fantastic! Las Palmas has a museum dedicated to Christopher Columbus, which we enjoyed walking around taking in the many antiquities and the charts and information surrounding his 4 main voyages of exploration. There is also “Casa de Colon” (Columbus House), with its incredible facade, where it’s rumored that Columbus stayed in 1492, whilst one of his ships was being repaired. We spent the rest of the day walking around the old city, stopping for an early dinner. No swim Sunday, but a good walk and we got to marvel at the ferocity of the Atlantic, made even more dramatic set against the black background.
Dream Chasers 